Posted by writeradmin
I have had a swelling on my gums above one of my top molars for three years. My dentist said it is most likely a chronic abscess but could be a cyst. He’s suggested watching it all this time. While it isn’t very tender, I’ve started to worry about it. I did some research on dental cysts and apparently, there are serious consequences when you don’t treat them. Is there a way to know if this is a cyst? I’m a bit of a baby when it comes to dental care, so I am hoping that it’s the chronic abscess instead so I can avoid treatment. Carrie
Dear Carrie, 
I have a couple of pieces of good news for you and then one thing that isn’t horrible news but you may not be thrilled about it. First, let’s start with the first piece of good news. Dental cysts are quite rare. The chances of this being a cyst are nominal. I’m surprised your dentist hasn’t diagnosed which it is. There are diagnostics that can give him a definitive answer. The second piece of good news is that even if it is a cyst, in most cases the treatment is the same as it would be for an abscess. Now for the news you won’t be thrilled with. Either way, you need to have this root canal treatment done. I am quite surprised your dentist has just been leaving this under observation for the last three years. If it is an abscessed tooth, it is leaking bacteria into your blood stream, and it has been doing that the entire time. Given that information, I’m not sure you are currently with the best dentist. Maybe he doesn’t like doing root canal treatments, but that is no reason to put the patient at risk. He could have easily sent you to an endodontist who do root canal treatments all the time. These can blow up into serious dental emergencies, and in some cases, even life threatening emergencies. People die every year from untreated tooth infections. Their deaths were completely preventable. On the upside, once you do have the root canal done, you will find that your general health feels a bit better because you’re no longer spreading bacteria into your blood stream. I do understand that you are not comfortable with these type of treatments. You are not alone in your dental anxiety. My suggestion would be to see a dentist who also offers dental sedation options. These can give you anxiety-free and pain-free dental appointments. There are patients who’ve avoided the dentist for years who’ve found that switching to a sedation dentist changed their lives and allowed them to catch up on years of neglected dental work. This blog is brought to you by compassionate dentist Dr. John Theriot.